Auburnis a city inLee County,Alabama,United States.It is a principal city of theAuburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSAwith a population of 150,933, along with theColumbus, GA-AL MSAandTuskegee, Alabama, comprises the greaterColumbus-Auburn-Opelika, GA-AL CSA, a region home to 501,649 residents.
Auburn is acollege townand is the home ofAuburn University. It is currently the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Alabama and the nineteenth fastest-growing metro area in the United States since 1990.U.S. News ranked Auburn among its top ten list of best places to live in the United States for the year 2009.The city's unofficial nickname is “The Loveliest Village On The Plains,” taken from a line in the poemThe Deserted VillagebyOliver Goldsmith: “Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain...”